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Northern Cafe - El Segundo

4.1 (507 reviews)
ModerateChinese, Noodles, Soup
Closed • 11:00 am - 9:00 pm

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Northern Cafe - El Segundo Photos

Business Info

NORTHERN CAFE - EL SEGUNDO ATMOSPHERE

What's the vibe?
Casual
Moderate noise
Outdoor seating
Good for groups

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Recommended Reviews - Northern Cafe - El Segundo

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Peter H.

Decent spot! Been here a few times. Reasonable prices and good food. This location's menu items are different from other Northern Cafes so be prepared if you're expecting to order a specific item... they may not have it. But what they DO have is pretty good! No complaints from us. Their beef rolls were cooked well and weren't too salty. Good portion sizes too for what you're paying. We also got their sturdy fry noodles and house special beef noodles. The broth for their house special beef noodles were SOLID. I'd get this one again when I come back. Solid tofu dish too As for the ambiance, it was nice! Not noisy, not too quiet. Families were here as well as single diners.

Emanuel V.

I visited Northern Cafe about two weeks ago while I was out shopping and realized I was starving. I looked up what was nearby and was pleasantly surprised to find this restaurant just a short walk away. Sorry for the late review--I never seem to write them on the actual day of my visit! We arrived during lunch hours and discovered they offer lunch specials, which were surprisingly affordable. I have to admit, I'm usually skeptical of very inexpensive lunch specials because, as we say where I'm from, "sometimes cheap ends up being expensive." In other words, I worry that lower prices might mean lower quality. That was absolutely not the case here. The biggest surprise of the meal was the dan dan noodles. Wow. They were absolutely delicious--easily one of the highlights of the meal. Honestly, everything we ordered was very good. The service from our server, Carlos, was great, and another server who was blond and spoke Spanish was even more attentive. Both were very friendly and helpful. We were so hungry when we arrived that we completely missed the "Wait to be Seated" sign and almost walked halfway through the restaurant before realizing our mistake--our apologies for that! The restaurant itself feels cozy and welcoming. I visit this shopping area quite often, and I'm really glad I discovered Northern Cafe because I will definitely be coming back from time to time. If you're looking for a delicious and affordable lunch, I highly recommend trying their lunch specials. The quality of the food far exceeded my expectations, and I don't think you'll regret giving this place a try.

Northern Cafe in El Segundo Sign
Djarum S.

Horrible service. Went in at 7:15, after a ten minute wait to order, I guess they did not want to serve me. I guess being black is a reason to be seated without even being asked if I wanted water or anything. I sat there while another server asked someone else about their "to go" order. I got up and walked out. I just got off work and just wanted something to eat before heading home. Guess I can't get that here.

Beef wrap
Shirley W.

Didn't know northern cafe was here! Was going to fish grill but then "discovered" northern cafe. Nice large seating area and good service. Food is great- we got the beef wrap, xiao ling bao, spicy wontons and yummy dandan noodles.

Al P.

What I love most was the attentiveness of the servers. They sat us down as soon as we came in and gave us our hot drinks. The food tasted a little differently from the other Northern Cafe branches but in a good way. We ordered quite a lot of food from fried rice to beef noodles to xiao long bao to the dumplings and everything tasted perfectly - taste was not too bold and definitely not bland. The ambiance was friendly and quiet.

Dan Dan Noodle 担担面
Hawnii S.

Four stars only because, even though they were severely understaffed, our waiter tried very hard to be accommodating on a Tuesday night. Food itself was normal, the flavors and seasonings weren't traditional but decent Enough to eat. Plenty of parking in the lot. Very casual ambiance, lot of families. Did have to wait quite a bit for everything to come out because of the lack of staff.

Drinks Menu 6/19/26 (ig: @cravingswithcat)
Catherine N.

Northern Cafe is our favorite Chinese spot in El Segundo. It's always so consistent with the quality, service, and atmosphere. Our must gets are the string beans, walnut honey, and the dumplings. Love that they have happy hour deals in honor of the World Cup, great prices for beers on draft. The workers are so nice and gave us good recommendations. ig: @cravingswithcat

Dezmond B.

Stopped in briefly to kill some time before a Hammer & Nail appointment and decided to grab a drink. Turns out it was happy hour -- half off beers and cocktails, which was a great surprise. I went inside, sat down, and was greeted right away by the waitress Diana who made sure I was properly taken care of. The restaurant was empty at the time, so service was super fast and attentive. I ordered the Yuka Mule, and the presentation was on point. It came out in a proper mule cup, and the bartender definitely didn't skimp on the pour. I didn't try the food this visit, but based on the experience, I'm confident it's just as good. I'll definitely be back for dinner.

Lau Lao Gan Ma Fried Noodle with Chicken 老干妈炒面 (微辣)
Joy C.

It's a well known chain and I typically have a go-to order at the Irvine location. I was surprised to see that they didn't offer popcorn chicken at this location. They did have plenty to choose from, which was good. Service could've been better, we asked the food runner for hoisin sauce but he didn't know if they have any so he said he would need to ask the server. It took a while to get boxes for our leftovers too. The food was good, loved their spicy chili oil that accompanied the wontons. The beef wrap was perfectly crispy outside, yet very juicy in the inside.

Beef Fried Rice 牛肉炒饭, Orange Chicken 陈皮鸡, Sautéed Broccoli with Garlic 蒜炒芥蓝, jasmine green milk tea
Ria R.

Northern cafe is amazing. They soooometiles struggle with consistency, but overall solid Chinese food and dim sum. Perfect for a quick and easy lunch or dinner. My favs are the pork chili dumplings and beef fried rice. Also, excellent milk teas. Jasmine green milk and Thai milk teas are a stand out. The orange chicken is good too! They are quick once you get your order in. They accommodate allergies well, as I have a shellfish allergy. The place is very clean, usually has open tables and always has a game on or the Olympics as of late;)

Assortment of sauces
Lynn T.

I love this place. I'm actually seated right now and stuffing my face. Hubby and I got the pork wontons in chili oil, chicken wings, egg rolls, and the Szechuan boiled beef. First of all we were seated immediately, and the wait staff has been amazing. Our waiter, Jose has been very, very kind and attentive. He brought us every sauce that they have to offer when we asked if there were any other options than sauce that comes with the chicken wings. So far everything is delicious. The setting is in El Segundo and it's in a pretty big industrious building in one big space and it's very clean. This is the first time that I've been here and I will happily return. An easy five stars for Northern Café. Thank you so much Jose.

Dennis Z.

My god, the food here is delicious! It wasn't too crowded at noon so barely any wait time. The Beef Rolls are to die for, the Chinese pancake wrap it was in was so crispy and it comes with a side of sauce, yum! The string beans are also very good, very well seasoned with garlic. And the pork dumplings, the bomb! It also comes with sauce and optional ginger. The server was outstanding. And the atmosphere was great, not noisy. If I'm down in that area again, I will try more items. As a Chinaman, I give this 5 stars across the board!

Boiled Shrimp, Pork, Chives Dumplings
Beto R.

We stopped by the restaurant for a quick lunch after a morning walk at the nearby beach. Inside it was modern, well lit, and spacious enough for 60 to 80 guests. The courteous waitress got us seated right away and promptly brought the menu which was similar to other Northern Cafes but with less noodle type selection. For this visit, we ordered the following items: House Special Beef Noodle Soup: The portion was quite generous. The broth with its blend of spices was savory with slight umamish sweetness and a tad spicy. The thin style noodles were nicely cooked and al dente. The beef pieces were tender and flavorful. Boiled Shrimp, Pork, Chives Dumplings: We ordered the regular boiled pork and cabbage dumplings originally but got these ones instead. What a lucky mistake, the blend of pork and shrimp had a very nice texture, and fillings were very flavorful. The wraps were boiled perfectly without any tears. Pork Potstickers: The wraps were nicely pan fried, not too oily and with beautiful crispy browning on the underside. The fillings with pork and chives were flavorful and aromatic. Pig Ear in Chili Oil: The thinly sliced pig ears were fresh and nicely crunchy. The seasoning was pleasant and slightly numbing spicy from Szechuan peppercorns. A nice lunch overall and we will definitely visit it again whenever we are in the area.

Dan Dan Noodle 担担面

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Reviews are generally positive. Many highlight the flavorful Chinese dishes, attentive and friendly staff, and a casual and clean atmosphere.

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Ask the Community - Northern Cafe - El Segundo

What is your corkage fee to bring in a bottle of wine?

Don't believe you can BYOB!!

Can I make reservations?

I called to make a reservation for tonight, they said they don't do same day reservations.

Is there outdoor dining?

I can confirm that outdoor dining is available at this restaurant.

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I'm a bit confused why this place was highly recommended by many when it's not that great…read more The service is really not as friendly as many have mentioned here. Lady didn't seem too happy working there and the place is definitely not kid-friendly. They only had one high chair. She saw us carrying a child when we came in and didn't even ask if we needed a highchair. She didn't even give us a cup of water for the child, nor did she give any utensils like plastic forks, spoons or even a small bowl. I don't know if I'm expecting too much but this is automatically provided at other restaurants I've been to. Got the tsukemen and honestly it's the worst I've had in my life. The chasiu pork is overcooked, yet not overcooked at the same time- if that even makes sense. It wasn't braised enough and the fatty parts weren't even melt in your mouth- it was chewy and extremely difficult to break apart. It also seemed like they just reheated it too much and the edges were curled up. It was also very porky tasting. The noodles weren't exactly cooked properly either- some of the noodles were still undercooked. The egg is really embarrassing to look at. It's a fully cooked egg, not soft-boiled. The dipping sauce was extremely disappointing out of all the tsukemen I've had. It's watery. All the ones I've had are thick broths. They give complimentary green tea ice cream in a small sauce cup but the ice cream is already full of frostbite. It's also super sweet and I can't even tell it's green tea ice cream. Super empty on a weekday- not really understanding why it's highly recommended by others.

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Northern Cafe - El Segundo - chinese - Updated October 2026

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